Change
by TA9528
Summary: First ever story. Decided to post it on here. Linstead story. It's what I hope will happen to them down the road. Please leave reviews. Disclaimer: I do not own Chicago PD or any of the characters involved in this story.
1. Chapter 1

Erin Lindsay stepped out of district 21. It's been a grueling month of work for her; the intelligence team was trying to figure out whom the arsonist was that blew up a building that contained all the members of firehouse 51. Her boyfriend, Kelly Severide, was among the people inside. His best friend, roommate and paramedic on the scene, Leslie Shay was killed in the blast. It's been a difficult month for Kelly, he had been very short fused and emotional since the accident. It's been taking a toll on their relationship. Erin tried to do what she could for him, but it wasn't enough to make him feel better. She knew he needed time to heal. The stress of the situation was really starting to get to her.

As Erin walked toward her car, she noticed her partner, Jay Halstead leaning against his car two parking spots over, watching her.

"Hey you wanna talk? I can hear you thinking from over here," Halstead said sarcastically. Erin rolled her eyes and walked toward Jay's car, and joined him leaning on the hood of the black car. Her and Jay had an interesting history. There always was a flirtation between them, but that ended after she started dating Severide. They still were friends, but since the explosion she really had neglected their friendship, and she felt awful about it. Outside of working together, they almost never saw each other. Erin spent every second she could with Kelly, which ended up being every other night after work, when he wasn't on shift. She hoped that he would let her in so that she could help him find some sort of acceptance after losing his friend. Jay understood why Erin had to put her personal life on hold.

"Listen Erin, I know things have been kind of strained between us since Shay died and I understand why. But if you need someone to talk to, I'm your partner, and I'm here for you. Always." Jay said genuinely.

Erin gave him a smile. "Thanks partner. I'm sorry about the way things have been recently, it's just—"

Jay cut her off before she could finish. "You don't have to apologize. I already told you I understand. I hope the fireman is doing better."

And just like that, Erin spilled everything to Jay. "He's been a mess for the last month, Jay, and I don't know what to do to help him at this point. He won't let me in the way he used to in the past. All he ever does when he's not on shift is mope around and drink."

Erin could feel the tears burning in her eyes. She tried to hide them from Jay by looking away, but he saw them, and he knew it wasn't good. He put his arm around his partner and one of his friends (he wished it was more), reassuringly.

"Come on now. Everything's gonna be just fine. You have to believe that. You're a fighter, Erin Lindsay, and I know you're gonna fight through this one too. Do what's best for yourself." Erin looked into his blue eyes and realized how much she missed having him around, as a friend to talk to. He always knew what to say.

"Yeah..well um..I'm gonna go now. Thanks for listening," Erin stood up and started walking toward her car, "Also, sorry for dumping all of my girl problems on you in the district parking lot," She said half jokingly.

"Yeah I would of preferred talking over a beer, Lindsay," he said with a wink.

"Tomorrow night after shift. It's on me, Halstead." Erin gave him a reassuring smile before getting in her car and driving away.

Erin couldn't stop thinking on the way to Kelly's. Jay's words kept ringing in her head, and hoped she could do what he said. She had to figure out what was best for her when she saw Kelly tonight after he got off of his shift.

Erin parked the car in front of Severide's condo, and tried to clear her head before she walked into the home. Erin took out the key he had given her after Shay died, and went to unlock the door. The smell of alcohol and rotting garbage filled the apartment. Surprised, Erin found her boyfriend lying on the couch, sleeping, with an empty bottle of whiskey on the floor next to him. On the table was a half eaten pizza that she bought two days earlier. The trashcan overflowed in the kitchen.

"Typical." Erin said angrily, while picking up the bottle and pizza, and started to clean the mess of a condo that she had just been in two nights before.

He jumped up at the sound of her voice. Kelly Severide sat up and looked at Erin, dazed and confused.

"What time is it?" He asked while disoriented. His head throbbed from the hangover he was now nursing.

"8:30. Why the hell weren't you on shift today?" Erin snapped at him.

"I…I wasn't up to going." Kelly responded.

"Oh right. But you were up to sitting here and throwing yourself a pity party by drinking until you passed out and letting your house stink of garbage. Kelly, you can't keep doing this. Leslie wouldn't want this for you."

Kelly cringed at the sound of her name. "Erin, please don't go there."

"I'm going there, Kelly! You can't keep doing this to yourself! It hurts to see you like this, and I don't know what to do next! I'm putting every second of my life on hold to try to help you and it seems like that you don't even want me anymore!" Erin was shouting now. Kelly looked at her dumbfounded.

He tried to collect himself and say something. "Erin, baby, I'm sorry, okay? I'm really really sorry. I've been a mess and a terrible boyfriend to you. You've been trying to help me and I don't deserve having a girl like you. You don't deserve to be treated like this."

"You're right. I've tried to be understanding and supportive of you in your time of need, but you're not accepting my support. I think it's best if I leave. I think we can both use some space and time to think about ourselves. Maybe down the road, we can find the place that we used to be in." Erin explained to Kelly honestly. Kelly nodded and couldn't say anything.

Erin headed toward the door. She felt the tears burning in her eyes again but held them in. When she made it to her car she sat in the driver's seat, and drove home. She walked into her apartment and felt her knees give out from underneath her. She finally let herself fall into the emotional tornado that she was trying to block out for the last month.


	2. Chapter 2

Erin woke up to the sound of her alarm. She laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been a difficult night to say the least. She spent most of the night questioning whether she had been too hard on Kelly, and whether she could've handled the situation differently. She probably got 4 hours of sleep all together. Erin dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and put some make up on, trying to cover the dark circles under her eyes from the lack of sleep. She put on her jeans, leather jacket, and combat boots, and left her apartment.

When she arrived at the station, she went up to the break room to pour herself some coffee, and noticed Jay standing near the coffee pot.

"Morning," Jay said, flashing his signature grin.

"Yeah, morning," Erin responded, trying to avoid making eye contact with Jay. She failed miserably. She reached for a mug on one of the shelves.

"You look like you've been to hell and back. What's up Lindsay?" Halstead said concerned.

"Nothing. I couldn't sleep that's all." Erin snapped back.

"If you say so," Halstead said sarcastically. Erin gave him a look and started walking toward her desk, and Jay followed her. "Hey, wait, I'm sorry. Whatever it is, it's none of my business. Are we still on for drinks tonight?"

Erin had totally forgot about the plans she had made the night before. "Listen, I'm not really up to going out tonight. How about you come by my place after shift? We can have pizza and beer, and watch a movie?" She gave him a small smile.

"Yeah sounds good." Halstead said. He was trying to figure out what was up with her. They made there way into the intelligence office area.

e

"Halstead and Lindsay! Let's go! We've got work to do!" Sergeant Voight shouted from across the room. Erin and Jay took their seats at their desk.

At around 8 pm, Voight let everyone go home. The intelligence team had a new case, a large drug ring selling deadly heroin to college kids. They spent the day trying to get leads on the members of the drug ring when Voight decided to send them home. Everyone was exhausted, especially Erin.

Erin and Jay walked to their cars together in silence. Erin's mind was still focused on Kelly, while Jay was focused on what was bothering Erin. Jay just knew something wasn't right with her.

Before they reached their cars, Jay broke the silence. "So, I'll pick up the pizza on the way over. I hope you have cold beer at your house." Jay said half jokingly.

Erin gave him a smile. "Yeah I do, Halstead! And the pizza is supposed to be on me, don't worry about."

"Don't worry about it. I can tell you've been having a rough day. I'll bring the pizza and hopefully then you can tell me what's on your mind." Jay said kindly.

"Yeah maybe," Erin said, "thanks Jay. See you soon."

Jay walked into Erin's apartment building with a box of pizza and climbed the stairs. When he reached her floor and knocked on the door, and waited for a response. Erin opened the door, smiling at him, and flashing her signature dimples.

"Hey partner," Jay said. He walked into the apartment and put the pizza on the coffee table in the living room and sat down. Erin went to the fridge and grabbed a six-pack of beer and grabbed plates from the cabinet.

"So what movie are we watching?" Jay asked while Erin joined him on the couch.

"Actually I was hoping we could talk first." Erin responded.

"Oh, are you about to dump all of your girl problems on me again?" Jay said jokingly. Erin stared at him. "I'm kidding, Erin, go ahead. Talk." His blue eyes burned with curiosity.

"So yesterday, I went to Kelly's. He skipped work and was a drunken mess. I kind of blew up on him and said that I think we need a break, but now I'm not sure how I feel. Part of me feels guilty for leaving him but the other part of me wants to be there and help him out." Erin spilled to Jay.

"Erin, you have to do what's best for you. Give yourself some time to think. It's only been a day." Jay said to her, while reaching for a beer.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Erin told him.

"You bet I am," Halstead said with a laugh. "So what movie are we watching?"

"How about a comedy? 21 Jump Street?" Lindsay asked.

"Sounds good to me." Halstead answered excitedly.

Erin put the disc in the DVD player. She returned to her seat next to Jay and started eating pizza. 15 minutes into the movie, Jay and Erin were both laughing hysterically at the movie. And around the halfway point, Erin started to doze off. Jay noticed her head resting in his lap, and shortly after he dozed off too.

Jay woke up at 7 the next morning, and decided to brew some coffee for the two of them. Erin stayed asleep on the couch. Today was one of their rare day offs, and Jay wasn't sure what his plans were. He wanted to spend the day with Erin, but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He didn't want to overwhelm her.

As he poured himself a cup of coffee, he heard a knock at the door. Erin jumped at the sound of it, and looked around disoriented when she found herself asleep on the couch.

"I got it," Jay said. Jay opened the door, and there stood Kelly Severide.

"Uh, hi…" Jay said awkwardly.


	3. Chapter 3

Kelly Severide stood frozen in the doorway. Erin jumped from her seat on the couch at the sight of him. She made her way to the door.

"Kelly!" Erin said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to stop by and see you before shift." He was staring at Jay, who was now in the living room, trying to keep himself busy by picking up the dishes and empty beer bottles from the night before. "But, uh, I guess you have company. My bad."

Erin walked out into the hall and closed the door behind her. "It's not what you think. Jay came by after work last night. We had pizza and watched a movie. He fell asleep on my couch," she explained, "Anyways, what's up Kelly? Why are you here?"

"I…I wanted talk. I'm going to start seeing a grief counselor. I'm hoping she'll help me out and maybe you could come with me to my first visit?" Kelly told her honestly.

Erin had suggested to Kelly shortly after Shay's death that he start seeing someone. Of course being Kelly, he refused and said that he could take care of himself. Erin could now see that he was trying to make an effort to get help after losing her.

"Kelly…" Erin trailed off. "I don't know if that's such a good idea. We've only been apart for a day. I'm trying to clear my head, and figure out what's best for me. Going to doctors appointments with you is just going to make it that much more confusing for us."

"I understand," Kelly said disappointedly. He started to make his way towards the stairs. "Well can I call you later?"

"Yeah, sure," Erin said. "I'm still here for you, Kelly." She gave him a small smile and made her way back into the apartment.

Jay was sitting on the couch when she came back, drinking his cup of coffee. "Hey," he said with a smirk.

Erin rolled her eyes. "Hi, Halstead."

"I made coffee," he said, pointing to the kitchen. "Thanks," Erin responded.

"I think I'm gonna head home. I don't wanna over stay my welcome." Halstead said placing his mug in the sink.

"Uh..you fell asleep on my couch, Halstead. I think we're past that point." Erin said sarcastically. She went and sat back on the couch, and turned on the tv to watch the morning news.

Jay laughed. "Yeah I guess you're right." He followed her back to the living room.

"So Halstead, what exciting plans do you have for today?" Erin said half sarcastically, half curiously.

"Well, I got a text from my older sister Kayla last night. Her and her cardiologist fiancé, Brad are gonna be in town tonight and want to meet up and have dinner. So even if I did have exciting plans they're out the window now." Jay explained.

Jay's parents lived in Chicago, and he kept in touch with them often. His sister lived with her fiancé in Minnesota, who indeed was a successful cardiologist. After Kayla started dating Brad, her relationship with her family became very strained. They only saw each other on the holidays and whenever they decided to make trips to Chicago.

"Sounds exciting," Erin gave him a small smile, as Jay gave her an angry look. "Yeah sounds like the most exciting thing to do on my day off." He snapped back.

"I can go with you if you want. I kind of still owe you after I dragged you to my high school reunion that I never went to." Erin offered.

"Well duh you owe me." Jay said sarcastically, "But if you don't wanna go you don't have to. I don't wanna complicate things for you in the firemen."

Erin looked into his eyes. "Me and Kelly are on a break right now. You aren't making things complicated. I just want to help you out. You're my partner and one of my best friends." She smiled at him, flashing her dimples.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you. I'm gonna head out. I'll come back here at around 7 to pick you up." Jay said, smiling back at her.

"Okay. See you later."

* * *

><p>Jay pulled up to Erin's apartment at 7 pm on the dot. He was wearing a black suit with a black shirt. He made his way up the stairs to Erin's apartment and knocked.<p>

"It's open!" she yelled from inside.

Jay let himself in. "Erin?" he called out from the kitchen.

"I'm almost ready give me like 2 minutes." Erin called from her bedroom.

Shortly after she walked out of her bedroom wearing a black dress, her hair fell in loose curls just past her shoulders.

"Wow. You look beautiful." Jay said to Erin.

Erin blushed. "You clean up pretty well too, Halstead."

"Ready?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Erin and Jay met up with his sister and her fiancé at a fancy restaurant in the heart of downtown Chicago. Jay felt comfortable with Erin there, she made things a lot less awkward for him. The only time they both felt uncomfortable was when Kayla hounded them with questions on why they weren't dating, but they pushed through it, laughing it off when they left the restaurant.<p>

Jay pulled up to Erin's apartment. He walked with her to the building's door. "Thanks for coming with me tonight. It always sucks when I have to have dinner with them, but you made it so much more bearable. Sorry again about my sister."

Erin laughed. "It's alright. I didn't expect her to think otherwise."

"Okay well, I guess I'll see you on Monday." Jay said.

"Yeah," Erin said. She walked into the building and headed up stairs. Jay walked toward his car. He had a great time tonight. Spending the last two days with Erin Lindsay reassured one thing for him: He still had feelings for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry I took long to post another chapter. I will do my best to post everyday this week. There is a two week time jump in this chapter. The italics at the beginning are a dream. Thanks for the positive feedback. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. **

* * *

><p>Two weeks later…<p>

"_Clear!" Erin yelled. _

_She heard shots fired from the next room, the room that Jay had went to search. Erin sprinted toward the room, finding Jay in a pool of his own blood. _

"_Jay!" Erin screamed, running towards him. "Officer shot! Hold on Jay! You're gonna be ok! Stay with me!" _

"_I love you," Jay told her in a low voice, before he closed his eyes._

"NO!" Erin jumped forward. She got up from her bed, trying to shake the dream she just had. This wasn't the first time she had a dream like this, it's been happening more frequently within the last two weeks, and Erin wasn't sure why. She started to get ready for work, fearing what her mind was trying to tell her. Could it be telling her that she had feelings for Jay? Or could it be warning her of a crisis they will find themselves in?

* * *

><p>Erin and Jay sat at their desks at work, which were straight across from each other. Half of the day went by, while the unit searched for more information on the drug ring they were still trying to bring down. Jay talked on the phone with one of his CIs, while Erin watched him from her desk. Erin had enjoyed having the opportunity to have a break from Kelly the last two weeks. It gave her a chance to think, and gave her a chance to spend time with Jay. They would go to the gym together and have dinner at each other's apartments when they could. It was nice to have him around again.<p>

Erin's phone buzzed in her desk drawer. It was a text from Kelly. "Hey Erin. Want to see you tonight. 6 pm outside the firehouse." Erin contemplated responding, but she knew she had to figure out what came next for her. She still had feelings for Kelly, and she really did want to make things right with him, if he was willing to do the same. She responded with a simple "Okay."

As the text went through, Voight came storming out of his office, with his leather jacket on. "We've got a location on the leader of the drug ring, Ramon Alves, that we've been trying to take down. Halstead, you're with Lindsay. Ruzek with Olinsky. Atwater and Antonio, you're with me. Let's move!"

Erin and Jay walked toward the car. Erin's mind was racing in one hundred different directions. Jay got into the driver's seat mainly to test Erin; she never let him drive, and he knew something was not right with her. Erin didn't say anything, and sat in the passenger's seat.

"Okay, either hell just froze over, or there's something on your mind." Jay said with a laugh.

Halstead started driving toward the abandoned warehouse. Erin looked over at him, "Kelly texted me, he wants to meet up tonight." Erin explained to him.

"And the soap opera continues," Jay said sarcastically, "Will Erin go see her estranged fireman boyfriend, or will she stay away? On the next episode of-"

"Oh yeah, very funny," Erin cut him off, playfully punching his arm. "This is when I need girlfriends to talk to." Jay swerved between two cars, almost driving onto the sidewalk. "And this is also why I always drive," Erin said smiling.

"Ha ha," Jay said with a grin.

* * *

><p>Lindsay and Halstead pulled up to the north side of the building, and Ruzek and Olinsky entered from the back, with Voight, Atwater, and Antonio following. They entered the warehouse, noticing that there was nothing but empty shelves and cardboard boxes in the main room. They noticed a few smaller rooms and the unit split up to search them. Halstead and Lindsay took two rooms next to each other, on the opposite side of the building as the rest of the team. Erin felt an eerie sense of déjà vu, as she walked toward the first door.<p>

She entered her room and yelled, "Clear!" as there was nothing inside. She then followed in the direction of Jay. Jay was moving quickly, not waiting for Lindsay to be his back up. Jay kicked down the door.

"CPD! No one move!" Jay shouted at the men in the room.

In the room sat two large, dark haired men sitting on a table, surrounded by cash and the deadly heroin the unit was after. One of them was Alves. Out of nowhere, another man appeared, gun in hand, and he was running toward the room, firing his weapon, as he got closer. The two men started running toward the door, along with the shooter.

"Damn it, Halstead!" Erin ran toward the room, without thinking. Voight, Antonio, and Atwater were chasing down the men. "Shots fired at the police! Requesting backup!" Antonio screamed into the walkie-talkie.

Erin entered the room, finding Jay standing up, and leaning against the wall. She ran toward him and looked for his wound. The shooter missed his vest; he was shot in the upper shoulder. Erin felt tears burn in her eyes, she hated to see Jay injured. She tried to keep it together but Jay noticed that she was scared.

"Hey look at me. I'm fine, Lindsay. It went through. Did you get them?" Jay asked.

"I-I don't know. We need to get you to a doctor. You need stitches for your shoulder. And that humongous gash on the side of your head."

"There's an ambulance on the way," Ruzek said, panting.

"Did you catch them?" Halstead asked.

"Two of them…the leader…got a…away." Ruzek explained, still panting.

The ambulance pulled up, and the EMTs were quickly to the room Jay was in. He refused to be put on a stretcher, and insisted he walk under his own will to the ambulance. Erin was close behind him, and rode with him in the ambulance. She tried to comfort Jay as the EMTs started to tend to his wounds.

Jay was very lucky. Like the last time he got shot at Molly's bar, the bullet went through. All he needed was some stitches, and some rest for a few days, and he should be good to go soon. They were all relieved at the news, especially Erin, and she refused to leave his side. She even offered to take Jay home when the doctors released him the next morning (they were keeping him overnight for observations, since he hit his head when he fell).

* * *

><p>"This is stupid." Jay complained from his hospital bed.<p>

Erin laughed. "You hit your head pretty hard when you went down. They're just making sure you're head isn't messed up."

"It was before I hit my head. I'm probably more messed up now."

"I believe it." Erin said, smiling at him.

Erin looked at her phone to check the time. 5:38. She told Kelly she would meet him at the firehouse at 6, but she didn't want to leave Jay, after everything they went through today.

"Jay, I told Severide I would meet him at firehouse 51 at 6 but I can -" Erin started to explain.

"Go. Take care of your business. I'll be here when you get back. I promise." Jay told her reassuringly.

Erin gave him a smile and walked out of the room, unsure what was going to happen next on this eventful day.


	5. Chapter 5

Erin Lindsay left the hospital and drove to firehouse 51. It had been a very long day. She had no idea what was going to happen when she arrived. She thought about her next move so much and she made a decision, but she was nervous about the results. She arrived at the firehouse five minutes after six; the traffic delayed her. There stood Kelly Severide on the sidewalk, smiling as he watched Lindsay get out of the car.

Lindsay walked up to Severide, and gave him a hug. "Hey, I missed you," he told her as he let her go. "Yeah me too," Erin said, smiling.

"I was hoping we could talk again. I've been seeing that grief counselor and she's really been helping me out. I'm still a work in progress, but I'm getting there. I was hoping me and you could start being us again, since I'm back to being me." Kelly said.

"I…" Erin trailed off.

"Sorry, I totally just sprung that on you," Kelly said. "If you need to think about it go ahead, take your time. I thought a lot about this before I decided to grow a pair and ask you to meet me."

"No, I don't need time to think about it." Erin said, taking a deep breath. "Today was one of the scariest days I've had in a long time. Halstead was shot and I've just been thinking.." She trailed off again, feeling the tears burn her eyes.

"Halstead was shot? Is he ok?" Severide asked, trying his best to act concerned. Jay wasn't particularly his favorite person in the world.

"Yeah, he's fine. It hit his shoulder. They stitched him up and he'll be back at work soon." Erin explained. "But that's not why I brought it up. Whenever someone gets shot or injured that's close to me, it makes me think about how short life is. How in the blink of an eye, anyone could be gone. It makes me think about what I want for myself down the road-"

"What're you trying to say, Erin?" Kelly asked, feeling his heart rate go up.

Erin felt the tears start rolling down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Kelly. We need to call things off tonight for good. I've had the last two weeks to think about it and after today…it just doesn't feel right anymore."

Kelly took a deep breath. "Yeah…I um…I get it, Erin," he said. She could hear the disappointment in his voice. She gave him a small smile and walked back to the car. When she reached the car, she rested her head on the steering wheel, and sobbed. And then a minute later, she started the car and drove away, as the firehouse and Kelly Severide disappeared behind her.

* * *

><p>Erin drove aimlessly for about a half hour. She didn't want to go home. She didn't want to go back to the hospital and have Jay see her like this. She pulled up at the red light in front of her. Her phone buzzed in the cup holder beside her. A text message from Jay. "Hospital food sucks!" he said, with an attachment of the slop of a dinner in front of him. Erin smiled, and felt bad for him. She knew where she was going next.<p>

Erin went to Jay's favorite restaurant that served some of the best Italian beef sandwiches in Chicago. She picked up two, pulled herself together, and worked up the courage to go back to the hospital.

She walked through the lobby, went up the elevator, and down the hall toward his room. She peeked her head into the doorway.

"Boo!" she said, popping out with the bags of food.

"Oh my god. I thought I was actually going to die of starvation. You're a lifesaver, Erin Lindsay," he said, giving her a huge smile.

Erin couldn't help but smile back, flashing her dimples when she did. "I know I am." Erin said back.

They both started eating their sandwiches; Jay finished his in less than five minutes. He really was hungry.

"When I texted you, I was afraid I was gonna be interrupting you and the fireman." Halstead said, half jokingly, "But I'm guessing since you're here right now…"

"I broke up with him," Erin told Jay, "I realized how quickly life can change today. I need to do what's best for myself. And after the last couple weeks I've had to think about it, I realized that my heart isn't with him anymore." Erin's voice started to shake; Jay reached out and held her hand.

"I'm sorry for bringing it up like that, Erin. I wanted to hear it before I made any assumptions." Jay told her, still holding her hand. "I'm here for you. You know that, right? No matter what. Whatever it is, you're my partner, and my best friend, and I got your back."

"Thanks Jay. I know." Erin gave him a small smile.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Erin instinctively pulled her hand away from Jay's and turned around. It was a nurse.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but visiting hours are over for today. Jay needs to get his rest if he wants to leave tomorrow morning." The nurse explained.

"Get outta here, Lindsay! I don't wanna be trapped here forever!" Jay said playfully.

"I will," Erin said, "I'll be here tomorrow morning to pick you up. Voight gave me the day off to make sure you're taken care of."

"Oh did he? That's surprising." Jay said, genuinely stunned. "Well I'm gonna force myself to sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Erin."

"Yeah. Sleep tight, partner," Erin said, before walking out of his room.

* * *

><p>Erin woke up bright and early the next day. She quickly showered and got dressed, grabbed her keys and was on her way. She drove to the hospital and arrived around 9 am. She went up to Jay's room and saw that he was already dressed, and was ready to go. He just had to sign off on a few things before he was free to go. Shortly after Erin arrived, a nurse came into Jay's room with a wheelchair and escorted them down to the lobby. Jay signed off on the paperwork and was wheeled to the door. He got up and walked to Erin's car, and sat in the passenger's seat.<p>

"Freedom never felt so good! Where are we going, Lindsay?" Halstead said excitedly.

"To your apartment. You need to be resting, remember?" Lindsay explained.

"Damn it. Okay, fine I'll rest. But…only if my partner spends the day with me though! I'll go crazy sitting in my apartment all day by myself." Halsted said, flashing his signature grin.

"Why did you think I took the day off, partner?" Erin smiled at him, and started driving toward Jay's apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked this chapter! Please leave reviews!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

One week later…

Jay was on his way to work for the first time in a week. He was so excited to get back on the job. He pulled into the district parking lot, and parked his car next to Erin's, who had also just arrived. Jay got out of his car and was greeted by a smiling Erin Lindsay.

"Thank God! Ruzek has been a nightmare to work with!" Erin said, giving him a quick hug as they walked into the building.

"I bet he was," Halstead said, smiling.

They made there way up the stairs, and through the doors to the intelligence office.

"Hey look who's back!" Ruzek screamed as soon as he saw Jay. He was greeted by the rest of the intelligence members and took his seat as his desk. Erin missed looking up and seeing him right across from her everyday. She stopped by at Jay's every night for the last week to see him.

Voight walked out from his office. "Halstead my office." Jay walked toward Voight's office, and closed the door behind him.

"Welcome back, kid," He said, shaking Jay's hand. In case Lindsay hasn't kept you up to speed with our cases, we caught Alves the day after you got shot."

"Yeah I know. She's kept me up to date." Halstead told Voight.

"Alright then, I want you take it easy the next couple days. If we start a new case, I want you staying back and answering phones with Nadia." Voight told Halstead.

"Alright, Sergeant." Halstead said reluctantly, and returned back to his desk.

The day went by smoothly. They didn't have any major cases to worry about, so the team just worked on some paperwork they had, and Voight even let them leave early. It was a Friday after all. Erin and Jay walked to their cars together.

"So what are you planning on doing on your night off?" Jay asked Erin.

"I'm not sure. I don't really have anything planned."

"How about we go get some stuffed pizza downtown? And then we can go walk on Navy Pier? It's a beautiful day." Jay asked her nervously.

"Are you asking me out, Halstead? On a date?" Erin said smiling.

"No…." Erin gave him a look. "Ok yeah I guess I am. So you wanna go?" Halstead said, he felt butterflies in his stomach.

"Yeah," Erin said smiling, "I'd love to."

"Alright so I'll come by your apartment in about a half hour." Jay said.

They both walked to their cars, and neither of them could stop smiling.

* * *

><p>Jay went to Erin's apartment just like he said. He picked her up and they made their way downtown. Because it was a beautiful day, the traffic to get into the city was crazy. After being stuck for nearly 30 minutes, they reached their favorite pizza place and had a nice dinner. Then they decided to walk to Navy Pier, since the traffic was so awful.<p>

Navy Pier was crowded with families and couples. The Ferris wheel lit up as the sun started to set. Jay and Erin walked on the pier for a while, and then sat on a bench, looking in the direction of Lake Michigan. They watched the sunset and the boats sail across the blue water.

"This is the perfect way to spend the night. You and me. Watching the sunset on Navy Pier." Erin said, looking into Jay's eyes.

"Yeah I agree," Jay said.

For a moment, Erin Lindsay forgot about the world around her. She was falling for her best friend, more and more everyday. She was sitting with him watching the sunset over Lake Michigan. And a few seconds later, reality started to set in. She was falling for her partner. The guy she works with. All she kept thinking about what was going to happen when Voight found out. She feared what he would do to Jay.

Jay could see that Erin was thinking again. "What's on your mind, Lindsay?"

"How do you know something's on my mind?" Erin snapped.

"I just do." Halstead snapped back.

"I was thinking about Voight. And what he would say if he saw us right now. And what's gonna happen next for us. And what's gonna happen if—"

Jay's lips came crashing down on Erin's, cutting her off. They pulled away after a few seconds.

Jay looked down into her eyes. "I've been waiting a long time to do that."

Erin looked back at Jay with a small smile. "Oh," it sounded like she was asking a question.

"Erin, I don't care what Voight thinks. I don't care what he does to me. I want to be with you. I've been wanting to be with you since the day I met you. He can't change the way I feel about you."

Erin hesitated. "But what if—"

Jay kissed Erin again, more passionately than the first time. He knew what he wanted, and in that moment, all he wanted was to convince her that everything was going to be okay.

When they separated from the kiss, Erin looked deeply into his eyes. Jay knew that Erin wanted this too.

"I don't know about you, but I would rather have a life of 'oh-wells' than a life of 'what ifs'," Jay told her, holding her hand.

She smiled at him. "Yeah. Me too. Let's do this, Jay Halstead."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed. Please leave reviews. Linstead! :)<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks to everyone that has been reading and leaving my positive reviews. I really do appreciate all of the feedback. And also...I'm so excited for CPD to get back tonight! **

* * *

><p>"Jay?" Erin called out from her bedroom.<p>

Jay Halstead was sitting on the couch, watching the Blackhawks game. When he was watching sports, Erin could almost never get his attention. It had been a few days since their night at Navy Pier; Jay went to Erin's every night after work to spend time with her. But tonight was different. Voight was planning on taking Lindsay out to dinner. To Jay's disappointment, Erin agreed to go. Erin loved Hank, he was the only father figure she ever had, and she felt like she would always owe him for what he did for her when she was 16.

Erin walked into the living room, and playfully punched Jay in the arm.

"Hello?" she said, sarcastically waving her hand in front of his face. Jay looked up at her and smiled.

"I'm gonna go meet Hank now. I don't know how long we'll be gone but if it gets late, go home. You don't have to wait for me. We've got work in the morning. " Erin told him.

Jay nodded. "Have a nice dinner with your dad," he said sarcastically.

"Very funny, Halstead." Erin said to him, before she leaned over the couch and kissed him goodbye.

* * *

><p>Hank Voight and Erin Lindsay walked in to one of their favorite steakhouses in Chicago. It had been a while since they had dinner together; the last time they did was when Justin was released from prison last fall. They were quickly seated and they had their orders taken by the waitress.<p>

"So what's up with you, kid? I know we work together and all but I feel like we don't talk the way we used to." Hank said, as the waitress brought out their drinks.

"I know. Everything's good. Work's been keeping me busy." Erin said, taking a sip of her red wine.

"Yeah I know. Work hasn't been easy the last couple weeks. How's the fireman been? Better I hope?" Voight asked.

"I..uh…" Talking about her love life wasn't her favorite thing to do with Hank, especially since her and Halstead were now seeing each other. Erin looked at him, "I broke up with him a couple weeks ago."

"My bad, kid," Hank told her apologetically. "I had no clue. But I should've known. You've always been a heartbreaker. Ever since you were a kid."

Erin smiled at him. "Yeah, you're right about that one." Erin took another sip of her red wine. "How bout yourself. What have you been up to?"

"Nothing," Voight said in his deep husky voice. "Wake up. Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat cycle next day."

"How's Justin been?" Erin asked, trying to keep the focus off herself.

"Good I guess. He says it's the hardest thing he's ever done. When he comes back, hopefully he'll be a changed man." Voight said.

"I'm sure he will be, Hank." Erin said.

The waitress brought out their dinners, and the two of them started eating. Hank looked up at Erin while cutting his steak. He had a question for her, but he didn't know how to say it.

"How's Halstead been?" Voight asked bluntly after 5 minutes of silence.

Erin felt her face turn bright red. "H-Halstead?" she said, her voice shaking.

"Yeah, Halstead. Your partner. You two spend a lot of time together." Voight explained.

"Spend a lot of time together? And how would you know that?" Erin snapped, she started to get angry.

"By the way you two act at work. Ever since he got shot you to follow each other around all day. And I drive by your place sometimes after work, sometimes before. His car is-"

Erin cut Voight off. "You drive by my place sometimes?" She could feel her blood pressure rise.

"Yeah I do. To check on you. Halstead's car is always there so I was wondering…" Voight stopped talking, and looked at Erin. She knew why he brought her here. It wasn't because he wanted to check on her, or because he wanted to catch up. He wanted to make sure there wasn't an "in house romance" in the works. He wanted Erin to know that he didn't support it, if it was happening, and that he would do whatever it takes to make it stop.

"I can't believe this. You don't drive by my apartment to 'check on me'. You haven't done that in years. You're doing it to make sure Halstead and me don't have a thing going. Well you can sleep peacefully, Hank! We don't!" Erin was a good liar, and she could feel herself shouting now. "And even if I was in a relationship with anyone it sure as hell isn't any of your business!" Erin got up from her seat, and walked toward the exit.

"Erin," Voight called out to her.

Erin kept walking and didn't look back. She got in her car, and drove home, hoping to find Jay Halstead still sitting on the couch mindlessly watching the Blackhawks game.

* * *

><p>Erin parked in front of her apartment building and saw Jay's car was still there. She smiled, got out of the car, and went up to her apartment. She opened the door and found him still watching the game.<p>

"Hey, I didn't think you'd be home so soon," Jay said, still looking at the TV. "Hawks are going to OT. Kane just tied the game up with a-" Jay stopped talking when he looked at Erin. "Erin, what's wrong?"

She lay down on the couch, her head in Jay's lap. "Talk to me, please." Jay begged her, while playing with her hair. "What did Voight do this time?"

"He asked me about you. He told me how he drives by here and sees your car and sees the way we act at work. He wanted to know if…" Erin felt her voice get shaky.

"Oh," Jay said monotonously. "Well what did you say?"

"I told him no. I didn't want him to find out yet. If he did, you'd get your ass beat by him in some alley, and you would be out of the unit before you could even fight back. I don't want that for you." Erin explained.

"I get it, Erin. I'm glad you didn't tell him yet either. It's too soon to spring something like that on him. Plus, I like working with you everyday. I can't imagine life any other way." Jay said to her, kissing her hair.

"Yeah I feel the same way. Can you do something for me?" Erin asked.

"Anything." Jay said.

"Stay the night. After dinner with Voight-"

Jay cut her off. "I'm not going anywhere. Especially with overtime starting right now."

Erin gave him a look.

"I'm kidding!" he said, grinning.

Jay watched the hockey game, while Erin fell asleep in his arms. Every moment he spent with her made him feel like the luckiest man on the planet.


	8. Chapter 8

Erin woke up early the next morning, still in the clothes that she went to dinner in, and lying in Jay's lap. She looked up at Jay, who was still sleeping, his mouth slightly agape, his head leaning on the back of the couch. They didn't have to be at work for two hours, so Erin tried to go back to sleep, but she couldn't. She got up and took a shower, and decided to make breakfast for the two of them. As the smell of pancakes and coffee came from the kitchen, Jay Halstead woke up.

"Good morning," he said, smiling at her. He sat on one of the two bar stools lined up on the island.

"Morning," she said, as she poured a cup of coffee for Jay and placed it in front of him.

"Thanks," he said. Erin removed the hot pan off the stove and put a mountainous stack of pancakes in front of Jay. She sat on the barstool next to him and they both started eating.

"How are you doing this morning? You were pretty upset when you fell asleep." Jay asked Erin.

"I'm fine I guess. I don't really wanna go to work and see Voight though." Erin explained.

"Yeah I know. If you don't wanna go, you can take a personal day to clear your head." Jay suggested.

"No. I never miss work. Ever." Erin said.

Jay started laughing. "Yeah I know, Lindsay."

They finished their breakfast and Jay headed home to take a shower and change. They met at the district, where everyone was starting to work on a new case they got this morning. There was a group kidnapping, raping, and killing young women from poor areas and dumping their bodies all over the city. Erin volunteered herself to go undercover on this case; she was so sensitive and emotional when it came to women being victims of such terrible crimes. As soon as she did, Jay also volunteered himself to go undercover on this case as well. He wanted to be there to protect Erin; just in case she needed it.

At around 5 pm, Antonio got a tip from one of his CIs on where they think the next abduction was going to occur. There was going to be an end of the summer party in an abandoned house for some of the high school and college aged kids in the area.

Voight walked out of his office. "Alright so the guys we are looking for are cousins, Joseph and Daniel Warner. Both 23 years old. They've been grabbing girls from bus stops and outside of schools and bringing them to wherever they hide out. What we need to do is find out where they are taking them so we can get those scumbags in prison."

Voight paused and looked at the members of his unit. "Alright, we are going to have Lindsay and Halstead among the kids at the party. Dress like you're in high school and try not to attract too much attention to yourselves. If you see any suspicious activity, report it to us, we'll be on the perimeter. Halstead and Lindsay, my office."

Erin and Jay stood up from their seats and walked toward his office. Voight looked at both of them. "I want you both to understand something right now. If anything goes wrong out there, you do not try to be a hero on your own. That's how you get killed and there's too much of a risk with all of those kids around. We're gonna be there with you."

"Yeah, Sergeant, we understand." Halstead said, while Erin just stared at Hank.

"Alright. Go get suited up." Voight said. "Erin?"

Erin was halfway out the door when Voight called her name. "What?" she snapped at him.

"I don't say this often, but sometimes I'm wrong. I went about things the wrong way yesterday." Hank explained.

"Is this your way of saying sorry?" Erin angrily asked.

Voight sighed. "Yeah, kid. It is."

"Alright well I…I'm gonna go get ready." Erin said.

* * *

><p>Erin and Jay walked into the small house that was falling apart in every way. The music was blaring so loudly the walls shook. The house reeked of marijuana, and was filled with kids that were under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. They all looked to be between the ages of 16 and 21. Erin and Jay split up to look around the house to see if they can spot any suspicious behavior.<p>

Erin walked toward the backdoor where she saw five kids passed out in the grass. She also spotted a girl, whom she thought was about 18 years old, standing near the fence, looking in the direction of the alley behind the home. Suddenly, Erin heard the screech of a car and saw a man jump out of a van. The girl started running toward the house, trying to fight off the man as she did.

Lindsay didn't have time to radio the intelligence team. She ran as quickly as she could toward the backdoor.

"Chicago PD! Don't move!" Erin screamed at him, pulling her gun out of the holster. Erin started to scream into her walkie-talkie. "I've got Joseph Warner in the-"

Suddenly Erin felt a gun at the back of her head. "Put the gun down and shut the hell up officer, or else I'll pull the trigger and blow your brains all over this backyard."

Erin dropped her weapon and stopped talking. "Good choice, officer. Now you and your friend here are going to go on a little ride with my cousin and I."


	9. Chapter 9

"Lindsay! Lindsay where the hell are you?" Jay Halstead screamed into the radio, while running down the stairs. The one thing he feared the most was actually happening.

Voight and the rest of the intelligence team were now running toward the house, searching every corner for Erin Lindsay. No sight of her. They went toward the back of the house, and into the backyard. There were kids still passed out in the grass, and there was a young man standing in the darkness near the side of the house.

Halstead came running toward them. "Did you find her?"

"Nothing yet." Atwater responded. Jay Halstead was so angry with himself for leaving her by herself. He should've had her back the whole time. The main reason why he volunteered himself to go undercover was to protect Lindsay…

The team examined the backyard, looking for any sort of evidence, when suddenly the young man that was standing in the darkness appeared.

"Excuse me, officers?" the young man said.

"What do you want, kid?" Olinsky snapped.

"Are you looking for a lady police officer? Because if you are, I can help." He said.

* * *

><p>Erin Lindsay sat in the back of the van, along with the young girl. Her hands were zip tied behind her back, and the men stripped her of her gun, her phone, and her badge. The young girl sat on the opposite side of the van, trembling with fear. She could barely look at Erin without having tears fall from her eyes.<p>

"Hey, listen to me. My name's Detective Erin Lindsay. We're gonna get out of here. I'm not gonna let them do anything to you." Erin said in a hushed tone, trying to comfort the girl. Her motherly instincts came flooding out; cases like these always struck a cord with her. But this time it was different; she was a part of the case.

The girl gave her a small nod, as the van came to an abrupt stop. The two men got out of the car, and made there way to the back door.

They opened the door and grabbed both girls by their hair, with a gun pointed at their backs. Erin tried to figure out where she was, looking for anything that could help her. The building she was walking into was in bad condition, as were the other buildings around them, but she couldn't make out the location.

Erin and the girl were forced into a room in the back of the building, and the men slammed the door behind them.

* * *

><p>"You better start talking fast, kid." Voight said, grabbing the boy by the arm.<p>

"The two guys you're looking for hide out in a building. Near those old abandoned train tracks about 10 blocks north of here. Do you know the ones? There's always an old pick up truck parked in front of the house. Along with the van they use to snatch the girls."

"I know where she is!" Jay screamed, running toward the cars.

"Halstead, slow down!" Voight screamed, as the rest of the intelligence team ran in the same direction. Jay didn't slow down or look back; the adrenaline was pumping hastily through his veins, and he knew where he was going. He was going to save Erin Lindsay under any circumstance.

* * *

><p>Erin paced around the empty room, trying to free her hands from the zip tie. She was getting close, and she felt the deep cuts forming on her wrists. She knew it was a matter of time before the brothers came back, and she knew she had to be ready to put up a fight for her and the girl, who she learned was named Jade.<p>

"My team is coming for us, sweetie, don't worry," Erin tried to reassure her.

"I hope so," the girl responded, her hazel eyes filling with tears again.

Erin heard the sound of cars in the distance, getting closer and closer to the building. She felt both relief and panic as she had a feeling it was her team coming to save her.

"See. I told you. We're gonna be—" Erin started to tell her in a hushed tone before the bedroom door flung open. Joseph and Daniel Warner walked into the room, each one grabbing one of the girls by their hair.

"Did you call your cop friends?" he said, punching Erin in the face. The force of the blow had her nearly flying into the wall.

His brother tried to calm him down. "We'll have time for this later! We have to get out of here!"

The two brothers forcibly pushed the girls out of the house and into the pick up truck in front of the house. In that very moment, the intelligence team was getting closer to the building.

* * *

><p>Jay Halstead saw Erin Lindsay get pushed into the pick up truck, and watch them speed off into the darkness.<p>

"Suspects have Erin and another victim in a blue Ford pick up! Heading towards Pulaski!" Halstead screamed into the walkie-talkie while trying to keep pace with the truck.

The truck was flying through traffic, driving on sidewalks, and on the wrong side of the road trying to avoid the intelligence team. The car was speeding so fast Jay was getting worried about how this chase would end.

"Hey man, listen to me. You're not gonna win. Stop the car and turn yourself in. Don't do this." Erin pleaded with Daniel Warner, the driver of the car.

"Shut up! Joe get that whore quiet!" Daniel shouted.

The truck sped on towards a busy intersection, where the traffic had progressively slowed down.

"Stop!" Erin screamed from the back seat, bracing for impact.

Warner lost control of the car and it veered into oncoming traffic. The side of the truck was slammed into by an SUV driving in the opposite direction with such a force that it rolled over and ended up on a sidewalk.

"No! Erin!" Jay Halstead screamed slamming the breaks and putting the car in park. He ran toward the smashed pick up truck, his heart racing. "Erin! Call an ambulance! Someone call an ambulance!"


	10. Chapter 10

"Someone call an ambulance!" Jay Halstead shouted again. The rest of the intelligence team arrived on scene.

Jay Halstead looked in the car. The driver's head was through the windshield, so he knew that he was most likely dead. The passenger was unconscious, his face on the dashboard, as the airbags did not go off. Then there was a girl, who he thought to be about 18 years old, who was conscious but dazed in the backseat, with Erin's arm across her chest working like a seatbelt.

"Erin!" Jay screamed. The members of firehouse 51 arrived on scene in that very moment. Kelly Severide and the rest of rescue squad 3 ran toward the car examining the situation, while Halstead ran toward Severide. "The bastard drove into oncoming traffic and got smashed by an SUV! Then the truck rolled over and ended up on the sidewalk! Erin's in there, Severide!"

"We'll get her out, Jay." Kelly said briefly before putting his men to work. Jay went and stood with the other members of intelligence. They were all in a state of shock and anger, like Jay. After removing the doors of the truck, rescue squad freed Erin Lindsay and handed her off to Gabby Dawson and Sylvie Brett. Jay ran toward the ambulance without hesitation.

"I'm coming with!" he shouted before jumping on the ambulance.

* * *

><p>The intelligence team sat in the waiting room to get the prognosis from the doctors. Voight paced around the room, with a look on his face that could scare a grown man to death. Halstead sat on the floor, his head in his hands, feeling absolutely crushed and sick to his stomach. He couldn't believe what was happening, and couldn't help but blame himself. After what felt like years of waiting a doctor came out to talk to the intelligence team.<p>

"Who's here for Erin Lindsay?" the doctor asked, and the intelligence team stood up.

"She's stable and in recovery," the doctor said. Jay felt relief at the sound of those words, along with the rest of the team. "She needed a lot of work. She has a moderate concussion. Her left lung collapsed and we needed to operate. Her right arm is fractured and her shoulder is dislocated but we don't expect any repercussions. However, she lost a great deal of blood, and we lost her for a few seconds in surgery. She's unconscious, it's up to her when she wants to wake up."

The words weren't registering in Jay Halstead's mind. She was going to be okay. But she's unconscious. "When is she going to wake up?" Jay asked bluntly.

"Like I said it's up to her. It could be a few hours, a few days, a week…we don't know." The doctor explained.

"Can we see her?" Voight asked.

"Yes, right this way." The intelligence team followed the doctor down the hall and into the room where Erin was. They walked in to see their friend and coworker lying unconscious. Other than the cuts and bruises, and her arm being in a sling, she looked like herself. They sat in the room in silence for a while, Voight and Ruzek mindlessly watched TV. Antonio and Atwater went to get an update on the living Werner and the girl. Jay found himself pacing around the room, and looking at the clock constantly, waiting for Erin to wake up.

Antonio and Atwater came back into the room. "Alright so Joseph Werner is still in the ICU on life support. Prognosis isn't promising. The girl is 18-year-old Jade Berardi. She's stable. She's got some broken bones, but other than that, she's fine. Doctor said they gave her something to help her sleep and we could talk to her in the morning." Antonio said.

Voight stood up. "Alright then let's call it a night. Everyone go home and get some rest, it's been a long day. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."

One by one the team started to leave; Voight and Halstead stuck around. They sat on opposite sides of Erin's hospital beds in silence, both of them constantly looking up at Erin seeing if she woke up yet.

"Erin and I went out to dinner last night. We got in an argument about something stupid," Voight said breaking the silence. "I apologized this morning, but I know she was still mad. Seeing her like this…it all seems so pointless now. She's the best thing that ever happened to me." Voight said, squeezing Erin's hand.

Jay had never seen Voight so vulnerable. "She knows that, Sergeant," Jay said, "and she is so appreciative of everything you've ever done for her. You're her family."

Voight nodded and stood up. "I'm gonna head home. You should too, Jay. It's been an exhausting day."

"Yeah. I will. In a minute." Jay said.

Voight left the room and made his way down the hall toward the elevators. Jay leaned over Erin's bed and kissed her cheek.

"I uh…I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I'm gonna assume you can," Jay said holding Erin's hand, "And if you can, you heard everything that I just said to Voight. Apparently the guy has emotions. Who knew?" Jay said with a small laugh, before his tone got serious again. "I'm sorry for everything, Erin. I never should've left you when we were at that party. I'm supposed to be your backup. If I was there none of this would've happened…" Jay trailed off, feeling tears form in his eyes. "I love you, Erin Lindsay. And I know I never said it enough. And I can't wait for you to open your beautiful eyes so I can tell you over and over again."

A nurse appeared in Erin's room. "I'm sorry, detective, but I'm afraid visiting hours are over. You can come back and see her in the morning," she explained.

"Is there…is there anyway you can let me stay? I don't want her to wake up and not have anyone here with her. She's my…" Jay stopped talking, his voice shaking again.

"She's your girlfriend, isn't she?" the nurse said with a smirk, walking toward Jay.

"Yeah she is. No one knows about it though. We aren't ready to tell our coworkers yet. It will make things way too complicated with the sergeant." Jay explained, squeezing Erin's hand.

"Well your secret is safe with me, detective. I'll talk to the doctors and see what I can do." The nurse said.

"My name's Jay by the way. And thank you." Jay said, watching the nurse disappear into the hall. A few minutes later, the nurse reappeared in the room.

"Jay?" the nurse called out. "The doctors said you could stay until she wakes up. Here's a blanket and a pillow for yourself."

"Thank you so much." Jay said as the nurse left the room. He looked up at Erin, "I'm not going anywhere, Erin, I promise. Goodnight. I love you."

Jay kissed Erin's head before relocating to the couch in the room, and tried to get some sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you guys liked this chapter. Please please please leave reviews!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

_Jay Halstead walked over to the driver's side of the car, his new partner flashed him a look. This was the third day he'd been working with her, and she was always driving. Jay decided to test his luck today._

"_Uh…are you lost?" Erin Lindsay said sarcastically, shoving him out of the way and getting into the driver's seat, smirking as she did. Jay circled around the car and sat in the passenger's seat. _

_They sat in silence for a few minutes, Jay with a defeated look on his face. Erin rolled her eyes and let out a silent laugh. _

"_What's your problem?" she asked Jay._

"_Nothing." Jay snapped._

"_Spit it out, Halstead." Erin snapped back. _

"_Are you ever gonna let me drive?" Jay asked. _

_Erin laughed hysterically in response. "I'm being serious, Lindsay!" Jay said. Erin pulled up to the shop they were checking out, and started getting out of the car. _

"_The day the Cubs win the World Series, I'll let you drive." Erin said half-jokingly._

"_Oh right. The baseball team that hasn't won a World Series in 106 years. I'll be dead by the time that happens." Jay said with a laugh, as they made their way into the store._

* * *

><p>Jay couldn't help but smile at the memory that replayed in his head as he sat at Erin's bedside a day and a half after the accident. It had been the roughest day and a half he'd experienced since he was in Afghanistan, and that memory was exactly what he needed to keep him going. He didn't sleep well; he woke up every 15 minutes to check on Erin. He probably had a total of 4 hours of sleep over the last 36 hours. He called Voight with an update after the first night, which was disappointing for the two of them, and for the whole unit. Surprisingly the day before when Jay called Voight after the first night of the accident asking for personal day off, Voight ordered Halstead to stay with Erin at all times, which Jay was so thankful for.<p>

The intelligence team stopped in the day after the accident to check on Erin, to bring Jay some clothes and a toothbrush, and to give him an update on Joseph Werner. They took him off life support, as his condition seemed to be getting worse by the hour. They also talked to Jade, who told them about the accident and how Erin saved her life. She said she couldn't wait to thank her when she woke up. Jay was expecting the unit to be back at the hospital in a few hours after shift, so he decided try to watch TV to take his mind off of things.

He dozed off for a few minutes, and daydreamed about the night they had at Navy Pier a few weeks ago, and how everything was so perfect. Too perfect, he thought to himself now. He was pulled away from his thoughts when a woman with short blonde hair walked into the room.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know she had company. I'm…I'm Bunny, Erin's mom." The woman said, sticking her hand out.

Yeah biologically, Jay thought to himself. Erin told him stories about her mother, and knew that she was anything but motherly to her growing up. Erin resented her for it, and Jay didn't blame her.

"Jay Halstead, I'm Erin's partner," Jay said, shaking her hand. Bunny walked over to Erin's bed, and held her daughter's hand. "I heard about it on the news. I've been worried sick."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jay, said, briefly.

"Part of me is relieved she isn't awake yet. I don't know what I would've said to her if she were. We aren't on the best terms right now. And I'm not sure why." Bunny said, walking over to the couch.

"Probably because you were never there for her, and now all of the sudden you want a relationship." Jay snapped.

"Excuse me?" Bunny said.

At that moment, Jay lost it. "You heard me. Erin told me about you. How she found you overdosed on the kitchen floor when she was 9. How you would leave her for days at home in the winter with no heat and barely any food to eat. And how you just stopped coming home when she was 15 because you were to busy getting high in some alley. But now you show up, all these years later, and expect her to want you back in her life."

Bunny rose from the couch, stunned. "It's probably best if I go," she said, quickly walking out of the room. Jay walked to Erin's bed and kissed her cheek.

"I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have let her get to me. I've been kind of wanting to do that since you told me about her." He said to Erin, worried that she could hear everything around him. "Anyways, the intelligence team is gonna be here in about an hour. Hopefully you'll be awake so we can sit around and crack jokes like we used to."

* * *

><p>An hour later, the intelligence unit showed up, along with Burgess and Roman. They all sat around and told stories for a while, trying to keep the mood light, hoping that Erin's eyes would flutter open and she would join the conversation. They stayed until visiting hours were over, and Jay said goodbye to all of them.<p>

"If anything changes, you call me right away." Voight said, before leaving. Jay nodded, and sat on the edge of Erin's hospital bed.

"Being together isn't the same without you, Erin. I thought I loved spending time with the unit. But really all this time, it wasn't the unit I loved spending time with. It was you. I just need see your eyes open, and I need to hear your voice again, and see your smile and those dimples that make me weak." Jay said to her, hoping for any response.

Jay thought he was hallucinating when he saw Erin's hand twitch. But then it happened again, and she slowly slid her hand so that she was touching his. And then, her hazel eyes fluttered open, and looked at Jay.

Barely audible, she gave Jay a small smile, and said, "Hi, Halstead."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all like this chapter. Expect another update soon. Please leave reviews!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm sorry I took so long to post another chapter! I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I think it's my favorite one so far. I hope you guys like it!**

* * *

><p>"Hi, Halstead," Erin said, disoriented.<p>

Jay Halstead looked at his girlfriend in disbelief and shock. After a few seconds, he was able to finally say something. "Hi," he said briefly, before leaning over her bed and kissing her forehead, and then he rested his head on hers, taking in the moment. This was the happiest moment he's ever experienced.

"God, I missed you. It's good to see those eyes. You're never allowed to do that again." Jay said, sitting back in the chair.

Erin gave him a small smile. "How long was I out for?" she asked him, her voice still quiet.

"Uh, two days, I think. Yeah." Jay said.

"You look like ass, Jay," Erin said sarcastically.

"You should smell me." Jay said sarcastically back at her. "No, I'm kidding. I haven't been home in two days. Haven't slept much either. I uh…I wanted to be here. I wanted to be here when you woke up."

"You didn't have to do that," Erin said, reaching over and holding his hand.

"I know. But I wanted to. How are you feeling? Should I get a doctor?" Jay asked frantically.

"No not yet. I'm sore and a bit disoriented, but I don't want to see the doctors yet. I just want it to be you and me for a few more minutes." Erin said.

Jay leaned over her bed and pressed his lips to hers gently.

* * *

><p>The doctors came by later that night to check on Erin. After running tests, Erin seemed to be in good shape. They believed that if everything stays looking good, she would be released by next week. As for work, they didn't believe she could be back on the job until her shoulder healed and she completed physical therapy, which would be in at least a month.<p>

The next morning, the intelligence team came by to see her. She was ecstatic to see them, especially Voight. Halstead was in shock when he actually saw Voight get emotional when he gave Erin a hug. Voight quickly recapped Erin about the case and about work, before the unit went back to doing their jobs. Jay told Voight that he would be staying at the hospital again with Erin which both confused and frustrated Hank, but he would rather have someone with Erin than have her alone in a hospital.

In the afternoon, Erin convinced Jay to go home, take a shower, and get some fresh air. Jay was thankful to get some fresh air and some space, but he didn't want to leave Erin alone too long.

Erin looked through the old magazines in the hospital room, and skipped through the channels on the tv trying to distract herself. She was still sore (most of the pain coming from her shoulder), but she was feeling better than she did the night before. She started to notice the yellowing bruises along her arms and legs, along with some cuts that were forming scabs. Suddenly, a girl in a wheel chair appeared in the room. Her hazel eyes and dark hair brought Erin flashbacks of the night of the accident. The memories of the van, the room, her attempt of shielding the girl in the accident….

"I'm sorry to just show up like this," Jade said, rolling herself into the room. Her right leg was in a full cast, and her left arm was casted and in a sling. She had stitches above her right eyebrow, and, like Erin, had bruises that were just beginning to turn yellow. "I heard you were awake. I'm Jade, if you don't remember."

"I remember you," Erin said, "how could I forget you? I'm glad to see you're okay." Erin said to her, giving her a small smile.

"Yeah," Jade said, "Just some broken bones. Hopefully I can get out of this chair soon. I came by to say thank you. Without you I'm not sure I would've survived." Her eyes began to fill with tears.

Erin felt her eyes fill with tears as well. "I was just doing my job, sweetheart. You don't have to thank me."

"No, I do. You saved my life. And I'll always be grateful to you for that." Jade said, before starting to wheel towards the door.

"Hey, Jade," Erin said, "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come to District 21 and see me. I would give you my card, but my phone is gone. Sorry."

"It's ok, thank you," Jade left the room, leaving Erin alone in her hospital room again.

A nurse came by with her lunch tray, which was something mushy and unappetizing. Erin was not going to eat it. She decided to call her boyfriend from the hospital phone to see where he was. He answered on the first ring.

"Hello?" Jay said, frantically.

"Hey," Erin said, smiling at the sound of his voice.

"What is it? Are you ok? I knew I shouldn't have left." Jay said, panicking.

"Calm down, Halstead, I'm fine. I just wanted to ask you a question." Erin said.

"Go for it," Jay said, his voice sounding more relaxed.

"Do you remember when you got shot last month, and you sent me a picture of the slop of a dinner the hospital served you?" Erin asked.

"Yeah, why?" Jay said.

"If I had a phone right now, I would send you a picture of my lunch tray. It's disgusting. It looks like-"

Jay cut her off. "What do you want for lunch, Erin?"

"Finally you caught on! Wanna grab Italian beef sandwiches from Portillos for the two of us? Oh and fries. And chocolate milkshakes." Erin said, her stomach growling.

"You got it, Lindsay."

* * *

><p>Nearly forty minutes later, Jay showed up with bags of food. Erin perked up at the sight of them; she felt like she was slowly starving to death.<p>

"Thank God!" she said, "what took you so long?"

"Don't act like you don't know about the drive thru at that place, Lindsay. It's lunch time! The line of cars was like a mile long!" Jay said.

Erin rolled her eyes and they both started eating. They were done with lunch in a matter of fifteen minutes, both of them basically inhaling the food in front of them.

"So, when do you plan on going back to work?" Erin asked.

"I don't know," Jay said, "maybe when Voight decides to come in here and beat my ass for being useless?"

"Ha ha very funny," Erin said sarcastically, "You should go back tomorrow. You shouldn't have to be stuck in a hospital with me at all times. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I kind of like being here with you." Jay said, half seriously.

Erin rolled her eyes. "Oh really? Why is that?"

Jay leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. When they pulled away a few seconds later, he gave her a smirk, and she rolled her eyes again, laughing.

"Because I can do that whenever I want. I can't do that at work." He said, winking at her.

"You are such a dork," Erin said, laughing.

"I know!" Jay said, "And you know you love me, Erin Lindsay!"

Erin couldn't help but laugh harder now. "Yes, I do love you, Jay Halstead. I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

><p><strong>I'm hoping to post another chapter this weekend. Please leave reviews. <strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello everyone. Sorry, I didn't post this weekend like I hoped. As I'm posting this, I noticed that I've reached 50 followers, and have over 15,000 views. Thank you to everyone that is taking the time out to read. I really do appreciate it. **

* * *

><p>One week later…<p>

"Welcome home," Jay said, opening the door for Erin. She walked into her apartment and took a deep breath. It felt good to be home, but she was also nervous. It was her first time being on her own since the accident, and she didn't know how she would react. While she was in the hospital, there was always someone there for her; but this was something new for her again.

"So, if you need anything at all, you call me. Or Voight. Or Antonio. Okay? You're still in recovery." Jay said.

Erin was in physical therapy for her shoulder, and her arm was still in a cast. Once her shoulder starts making more progress the doctors said she could return to desk duty. As for her returning to her normal workload, they said they didn't expect that to happen for at least a month, which frustrated Erin.

"I know. Thanks." Erin said, looking around her apartment. "When do you have to be at the district?"

"Oh…uh I told Voight I'd be in by 9. It's 8:30 right now," Jay said, disappointed. He didn't want to leave Erin alone.

"You should probably start heading out then," Erin said, looking into Jay's eyes. She knew he didn't want to go; and she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't want him to go either. "I'm gonna be fine Jay. Go," she smiled at him reassuringly, and kissed his cheek.

* * *

><p>Work wasn't the same without Erin. Jay hated showing up to work everyday and staring at her empty desk, and Voight was even angrier without her around. It was a slow day for the intelligence unit, most of the day consisted of dealing with paperwork.<p>

At around noon, Jay's phone buzzed. A text message from Erin. "How's work?"

"Slow. Not the same without you." Jay said.

"Yeah I'm sure. I'll see you tonight." Erin said.

Voight and the intelligence unit left work at around 7. Jay decided to take Erin to dinner that night, so she can have a change of scenery. After all, she was in the hospital for a week. Jay picked up Erin from her apartment and they went to a small Italian restaurant not far from there.

They were seated and given their drinks quickly. "So how was your day?" Jay asked Erin.

"Okay I guess. I can't really do much with this thing," Erin said, gesturing to her arm in the sling.

"Yeah I know, I've been there before," Jay said, thinking about the time he got shot last month.

Erin smiled at him and looked out the window next her, thinking about her life, and everything going on, when Jay interrupted her.

"I have a question for you," he said, as the server brought out their food. "When you were unconscious, could you hear anything?"

"I might have. I'm not sure if they were dreams, or if it was the world around me," Erin admitted, looking down at her pasta. "There was one time, when I heard you and Voight talking about me. You told him how he was my family."

"Yeah that happened. That was the first night after your accident," Jay explained, smiling at her.

"Good to see you two bonded over me almost dying," Erin said, grinning.

"Oh yeah, we're best friends now," Jay said, sarcastically.

They both laughed and then ate their pasta in silence for a few minutes. Erin broke the silence abruptly.

"Maybe we should tell him," she said, quietly.

"Who? Voight? Are you sure?" Jay said, starting to feel his heart race.

"Yeah I'm sure. After everything we've been through, he should know." Erin explained.

Jay took a deep breath; Erin could tell he was nervous. "Yeah you're right. When do you want to tell him?"

"Tonight. After dinner." Erin said.

* * *

><p>They pulled up to Hank Voight's house after dinner. It was late, but Erin knew he was awake, and she wanted to tell him before she talked herself out of it. They walked up to the door in silence and rang the doorbell. Voight peeked through the curtains, and opened the door.<p>

"Erin. Halstead. What's got you two here this late?" Voight said, sternly.

"We wanted to talk to you Hank," Erin said, walking in to the house. Jay trailed her close behind. They took a seat on one of Hank's couches in the living room.

"What's this about? Halstead why do you look like you're about to confess a murder?" Voight said, half seriously.

"I…" Jay started saying and then he trailed off, looking at Erin.

"Me and Jay…" Erin started saying, before trailing off.

Voight started laughing. "You and Halstead, what? Killed someone and are looking for a place to hide the body?"

Erin rolled her eyes. Voight spoke again. "You think I don't know why you two came here? It's about time you told me."

Erin and Jay looked at each other. Erin turned bright red, and Jay put his hand on her leg reassuringly.

"We know how you feel about in house romances Serge-" Jay started saying before he was cut off.

"Let me make myself clear. I don't like in house relationships. I never will. But after everything this unit's been through in the last two weeks, I'm not about to make life that much more difficult. If you two can keep it professional in the workplace, I won't say anything."

A look of relief grew on both of their faces. "We will, Hank," Erin said. They both stood up, and started walking to the door.

When they got to the car, Jay started driving to Erin's apartment in silence. They stopped at a red light, and they looked at each other, and started laughing.

"He knew," Jay said, still laughing, "God, were we that obvious?"

Erin looked at him and smiled widely. "I guess so…or maybe he heard you confessing your love for me at my bedside," she said, winking at him.

"Oh geez, you heard that too?" Jay said, blushing, and feeling slightly embarrassed.

Erin laughed. "Don't be embarrassed. You were the one reason why I wanted to open my eyes."

Jay pulled up in front of Erin's apartment, and got out of his car. He opened the door for her, and kissed her gently.

"I should probably head home," Jay said, sadly.

"No," Erin said, abruptly. "Stay." She leaned in and kissed him again, this time more passionately, and then she took his hand, and guided him up to her apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up before Halloween. Please leave reviews, I love to here your feedback. Also, feel free to leave me comments on where you would like to see this story go next. <strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so so so sorry for taking so long to post another chapter. I was having a bit of writer's block, combined with a lack of time to write due to school.**

* * *

><p>6 weeks later...<p>

"Halstead, my office now."

Jay stood from his seat and walked into Voight's office and closed the door behind him. Voight stood with his arms folded across his chest.

"What's up Sarg?" Jay asked.

"Erin's coming back to work tomorrow." Voight said briefly.

"I know, she's pretty excited. She had her last appointment with the physical therapist a couple days ago, and he gave her the all clear for full work." Jay said. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't excited to have her back at work. It's been nearly 6 weeks, and he missed having her sitting across from him in the Intelligence office.

"I just wanted to remind you of what I said 6 weeks ago. Erin's been through a lot and she's a grown woman so I'm not going to try to control who she dates. But let me make myself clear on one thing, Jay. If you can't keep it professional in the workplace, or worse, if you break her heart, I'll have you out of this unit so fast you won't even know what hit you." Voight said to Jay, sternly,

"I understand, Sarg." Halstead said, before he started to walk toward the door. He left Voight's office, shaking his head and silently laughing to himself.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Jay and Erin drove together to the station. Erin, to Jay's surprise, looked nervous. He instinctively reached over and grabbed her hand. "You're gonna do great, and everyone is excited to see you," Jay said, reading her face like an open book.<p>

"That's not why I'm nervous." Erin said quietly,

Jay parked the car in the parking lot and looked over at her. "Okay, so why are you nervous?" Jay asked, placing his hand on her leg.

"What if we can't keep it professional? What if work ruins this?" she said, looking down at his hand, and then back into Jay's blue eyes.

Jay held both of her hands in his and said, "We're gonna make this work, Erin. It's not going to be easy, but I love you, and I'll do whatever it takes to make this work."

He leaned over and gently pressed his lips to hers reassuringly. Erin looked into Jay's eyes again, "I love you too," she said, before they both opened the car doors, and walked into district 21.

The first half of the day went by smoothly and quietly, with all of the members of intelligence dealing with paperwork. Jay couldn't help but smile when he looked up at Erin, sitting across from him in her usual seat.

Voight came out of his office, and notified the group that they had a bust to get to. The group had been working on busting a group that was smuggling in drugs from Mexico. They had a location on the group and the warehouse where they kept their drugs.

"Alright, so we'll send in Antonio and Al undercover. Everyone else suit up. Atwater and Ruzek with me, Lindsay with Halstead." Voight said, as everyone started walking toward the locker room to get ready.

"Welcome back, partner," Jay whispered in her ear, and winked at her as he walked by.

* * *

><p>Halstead and Lindsay were in their car, parked at the west side of the building. Voight, Atwater, and Ruzek were positioned at the north side of the building, Ruzek having eyes on Antonio and Olinsky, who were inside talking to the drug dealers.<p>

The unit went in to the warehouse and located the drugs. Erin's first drug bust went smoothly, and all of the drug dealers were caught inside of the warehouse. She felt a sense of relief and joy to be back on the job.

Erin and Jay were in the break room, silently getting their second cups of coffee of the day. "So my sister texted me. Her wedding is next weekend. In Minnesota." Jay said, breaking the silence.

"That's nice." Erin said briefly.

"My mom is already trying to set me up with one of her fiancé's cousins." Jay said, while laughing.

"Oh god…" Erin said, rolling her eyes, "so what did you say?" Erin asked curiously.

"I told her I was seeing someone," Jay said, his eyes lighting up.

"Oh did you now? And who would that be?" Erin said sarcastically.

"Very funny. Anyways, she insisted I bring her along. So Erin Lindsay, will you be my date next weekend?" Jay asked.

Erin smiled widely. "I'd love to. I wanna know about your past too. Hopefully your family tells me some embarrassing childhood stories about you getting thrown in a dumpster by a girl when you were 11 or something."

Jay's face turned bright red, as he started to walk back into the intelligence office. "Wait…did that really happen?" Erin asked jokingly, chasing after him.

"No…" Jay trailed off, and Erin gave him a funny look, "okay, I was 8 alright? I won't mess with Jimmy Thompson ever again. His sister is scary."

Erin couldn't help but laugh as they returned to their desks and began working on the next case of the day.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter was a bit shorter, and is setting up an idea I have for where this story will go next. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please follow, favorite, and review. <strong>


	15. Chapter 15

Voight and Halstead were the last two members of intelligence in the office on Wednesday night. Since Jay had to go to the wedding this weekend, he wanted to get as much work done as possible. The unit had been hard at work on a new case involving the illegal distribution of drugs to teenagers in a high school in the city. The case got serious when a student overdosed in the bathroom after school. The team had reason to believe that the dealers were dangerous as well. It was a big case, and the unit new it wasn't going to be easy to take down the dealers.

Voight came out of his office. "Halstead, we need to talk."

"What's up Sarg?" Jay said, looking up from his computer screen.

"I'm going to need you to go undercover on this case next week. We're gonna send you into the school among the kids. I don't have the details for you yet, but I will this weekend. We still have to work out a few things with the school and the commander. You should be gone for about 2 weeks, give or take a few days." Voight said.

"Yes, sir. Just let me know when," Jay said.

"Alright. Go home, Halstead. It's late." Voight said, before disappearing back into his office.

Jay walked to his car with his thoughts distracting him. Him and Erin were leaving for Minnesota on Saturday for his sister's wedding, and he didn't want to overwhelm her with the idea of him going undercover next week. He wanted the weekend to be a time for them to get away from their work. When was he going to tell her?

* * *

><p>Jay and Erin waited by the gate in the airport to board their plane. Jay had been distracted by the idea of him going undercover next week, and he still hadn't told Erin about it.<p>

"Are you okay?" Erin asked, noticing that he was distracted.

"What? Yeah I'm fine. Just tired." Jay said, briefly.

They boarded their flight and took their seats. Both of them fell asleep quickly on the short flight, and the plane landed in Minnesota on time. They picked up their luggage, and took a car to the hotel.

They arrived at the hotel at 10 am, and checked in. They went up to their room, and had a look around. "Alright so, we don't have to be ready until around 5, and it's only 10 am. Have any ideas of what we could do to kill time?" Jay asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Erin walked over to him, and looked into his eyes with a mischievous smirk on her face. "I think I have an idea," she said, before kissing him passionately.

When they broke for air a few seconds later, Jay laughed. "I like where this is going," he said, before removing his shirt and kissing her more passionately than before.

* * *

><p>Jay was pacing around the room, waiting for Erin. He really didn't want to be late to his sister's wedding. His parents would give him grief about it forever.<p>

"Erin, please hurry," Jay said, adjusting his black skinny tie, "my parents are gonna drive me nuts if I show up to Kayla's wedding late even though she never gave a sh—"

Jay stopped talking when he saw Erin walk out of the bathroom. She wore a short red dress that fit her figure perfectly. Her hair fell in loose curls at her shoulders. This was the second time Jay saw Erin dressed up like this, and like the first time, he was at a loss for words. How did he get so lucky?

"Quit staring you perv," Erin said, sarcastically.

Jay shook his head and laughed. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah let's go," she said, reaching for his hand, and leading him out the door toward the car.

They drove to the church. Erin couldn't help but stare at Jay while he drove, admiring how good he looked in the black suit he was wearing.

"So it's okay if you stare at me, but I can't do the same?" Jay asked.

Erin felt her face get hot, thinking that he didn't notice. "Just drive, Halstead."

* * *

><p>Jay and Erin walked into the church hand in hand, and were greeted by Jay's parents at the door.<p>

Jay's mom gave him a big bear hug and has dad gave him a firm handshake. "Mom, dad this is Erin, my girlfriend," Jay said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Nice to you meet-" Erin started saying before Jay's mom grabbed her for a tight hug. Jay's father did the same.

"It's so nice to finally meet you. Jay's been talking about you for the last year. It's good to finally put a face to all of the lovely stories." Jay's mom said.

Jay's face turned bright red, and Erin laughed. "We're gonna go find our seats now," Jay said.

As they walked to their seats in the church, Jay's phone buzzed. The screen lit up with the word, Voight. Jay thought about answering it, but figured it's not the right time. He declined the call.

Halfway through the ceremony, Jay's phone buzzed again, which earned him a look a of disapproval from his mother. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, and again, the phone lit up with Voight's name.

"Why is Voight calling you on your weekend off?" Erin whispered to Jay.

"It's nothing. We'll talk later," he whispered.

* * *

><p>The reception went smoothly, but not without Jay getting two more phone calls from Voight, the final of which he answered. Voight gave him the details of his undercover assignment, which brought Jay's mood down significantly. Erin noticed and couldn't wait to ask him what was wrong when they were alone.<p>

They drove back to the hotel in silence; Jay was dreading the questions he knew Erin was going to ask.

"So, why was Voight calling you?" Erin asked, bluntly.

Jay parked the car in the hotel's parking garage and took a deep breath. "He was calling me to let me know about the undercover assignment I'm being sent on."

Every emotion possible went through Erin in that moment. "When? Why you? How long are you gonna be gone?"

"He trusts me and I know I can do it. I want to show him that I'm more than capable of being on his team…I leave Monday night. And he thinks I'll be gone for a few weeks." Jay said.

"Damn it, Jay! Why didn't you tell me before we left? What am I supposed to do while you're gone? I'm just barely getting back into the rhythm of being back on the job and you're just going to leave a week after I get back on the job? You are the motivation I have to go to work and to make it through everyday. What if something happens to you?" Erin shouted, feeling the tears burn her eyes.

"I didn't want to ruin the weekend with you. Nothing is going to happen to me. Everything is going to be fine." Jay said, trying to comfort her. He reached for her hand, and she pulled it away. "Erin…"

"How long have you known?" Erin asked.

"Since Wednesday." Jay said, looking down, "I'm sorry, Erin, I should've told you."

"I just…I can't do this right now." Erin said, before opening the door and getting out of the car.

Jay watched her walk toward the hotel, before feeling a wave of anger take over him. "Smooth, Jay, real smooth," he thought to himself, before punching the steering wheel.


End file.
